Dusk to Dawn

Well, it would have been dusk to dawn. I got the bright idea to photograph all of my eats one day...but my camera was playing hide and seek half the day and I was too tired to play...so it's an *almost* day in the life:

And it all starts out with COFFEE and breakfast. I almost never eat the same thing (snooooze!). Yesterday morning featured Multi-grain Cheerios, Walnuts and Blackberries drenched in 1% milk.

My favorite part of lunch involved the very end of my plain yogurt container, a heaping tablespoon of melted peanut butter, a pinch of cinnamon and a dash of brown suggga!

Topped with Kashi cereal of one form or another and chocolate chips for the perfect touch!

Summer fruit helps to make this hot hot hot weather much more bearable!

After work, I dug through the kicthen cabinets (you don't do that?) and found this mandolin (sp?) slicer. A NEW TOY! My up and coming sweet potato fries seemed like the perrfect culprit.

While those were sizzlin' on a baking sheet at 350*, I toasted up an english muffin...

and topped said muff with cheese...the making of a truly tasty breakfast sandwich (for dinner).

I prepped the egg puff in the microwave (lazy!) by whipping up an egg, seasoning with S&P and beaming it with micro-waves for a whole minute. Sounds like a scientific experiement, no?

Whatever. Sometimes the microwave is your best friend after a long work day. Agreed?

I had my faux-paux "cake doughnuts" for dessert...every day this week. :)

Perhaps in the future, you shall get a real "day-in-the-life".

Do you eat dessert every day? HECK YA! Why not?

Favorite Kitchen Tool? I think the food processor is at the top of that list. It makes this masterpiece possible.

Alot'a Appearing Dots

I was recently sent some Naturally Nora Alot'a Dots Cake Mix and Frosting Mix to review. Thank you Nora...cake is like a smile in a box. Sure, you could mess it up (and I somewhat did...); but in the end, it's sugar and it's good.
Ingreeeds and Nutrish for those who are intrigued...
Not diet food, but a natural treat to enjoy during your next Hooopla!
Elderberry Juice, Spinach Extract, Paprika...in my CAKE!?

The frosting...

Intensive, double layer cake or cute little cupcakes that I can share with my friends? Yea, not a hard decision there.

I can handle that: milk, oil, eggs.

I whipped it up by hand and had one less dish (one less complicated dish, at that) to wash. :)

Okay, here is the part that baffled both my roommate and I to no end: When I took the cake mix out of the box, it was straight up white powder. No dots, no color, no particles larger than others...I thought I had gotten jipped out of the fun that is colored dots in your cake. However, after stirring together the ingredients, I began to notice large colorful pieces all throughout the batter. What in the world?!?! These are not little specs either. It's magic.

As the cupcakes were cooking, I turned to the box of frosting.

1 Stick of BUTTER! I'm sorry, but this was not for a special occasion and I just couldn't see throwing a whole stick of butter into this mix. I opted to use half the box of frosting and 2T of butter. This is where the mess-up comes in...I got a little heavy handed with the milk. I was going for a splash and got a river. Therefore, I ended up adding the whole entire sugar-y frosting pouch...the result was more of a glaze. Also, the colored bits never "magically" appeared like they did in the cake mix. Are they fat activated?! haha

MMMM! Funfetti cake has something special to it. I can't really describe it.

As the glaze hardened, the treats began to taste like cake doughnuts! YUMMM! Some of the greatest foods are discovered by mistake. Take the potato chip for example...

ALMOST too cute to eat. almost.

Overall, I was impressed with the sweet, sinful taste and soft, dense texture of Nora's Cake Mixes. The frosting...well, that is left to our imaginations. Want to learn more? Become a Facebook and Twitter fan of Naturally Nora!

Favorite cake? This is an extremely hard question. Sorry to put your brain through such a strenuous activity.

Last time that you enjoyed cake? Five minutes ago. :)

Lavish Thins & Spins

Is it just me or do homemade tortilla pizzas have this extra something special? It's hard to describe. The thin, crispy crust still retains its tortilla essence after a 20 minute spin in a 375* oven and serves as the perfect base upon which to pile sauce, veggies and loads of gooey cheese. This FlatOut creation could never replace the real deal, but it has its own place in Pizza Land.

In other news, I hit the foodie jackpot at Target the other day. Two new products jumped into my cart and I jumped to the register...psyched to give 'em a try.

First, I stumbled across a new variety of Stacy's Pita Chips- Garden Veggie Medley. They have the same crunchy, firm texture of Stacy's that I hold as the standard for all other pita chips, but with a delightfully thorough veggie/herb flavor permeating throughout. You cannot exactly distinguish between one veggie/herb and another...it's more of a tasty medley (go figure!).

This bag had a super reflective coating that was anything, but conducive to taking good pictures.

I won't hold that against you, Stacy's.

Break...I didn't find this at Target; but it managed to sneak into this post, so let's take a quick peek, eh? It's well worth your time.

Lavish Dark Chocolate Old Fashined Instant Oatmeal by BetterOats.

Better Oats has SOOOO many oat varieties on the market...it's mindboggling! The nutritionals are always top notch and the flavor profiles are always intriguing. Furthermore, the oats are like a super oat. They are a bit larger than what you would find in your average pack of instant oats and, therefore, retain this irresitible chew that you can't help but LOVE!

The dark chocolate variety in particular is very unique. It embodies the idea of dark chocolate perfectly, but is not too sweet. The chewy oats are still allowed to shine right alongside the vibrant dark chocolate flavor. YUM!

Paired with strawberries and the combo is...

so hott, it's steamin'!

So, back to my Target trip...

I also found these new Nature Valley Granola Thins in Dark Chocoalte and Peanut Butter. I opted for the dark chocolate variety (potayto, potato) and I was pysched to try it out.

Ingredients: Not too bad, eh?

For those who care:

They had me compeltely psyched! I mean, look at that picture.

Well, much to my dismay, they were no bigger than a chip clip (Yea, we decorate our chip clips. We're cool.). The base of the bar is a slightly thinner version of the crunchy two bar packs that we are all used to seeing under the Nature Valley brand. That crispy, crunchy, dense and somewhat delicate granola base has a layer of chocolate on the bottom and comes in a little white sleeve... in an attempt to minimize the potential melty mess.

This combo simply WORKS and puts a smile on my face. But, in the end, it's just too small. If you have somewhat of a reign on your sweettooth, then it might be just perfect for you. For me, it just wakes my sweet tooth up. Then it's like a little kid on their birthday...more presents, more presents, more presents!!Last, but not least, I have a non-foodie review for you. I am certain that a large majority of you have seen the commercials for the Goody Spin Pin. Well, the advertisers did their job and I shelled out $6 bucks, as a result.

It looked easy enough...

... and it was easy enough. They twist in and out so easily and they hold the hair quite well. I did have a bit of trouble with my layers popping out here and there; but I got them under control after playing around with it for a bit! Cool idea!

Random Posts. Gotta love 'em!

Because when you're sick...

The health foodie from within takes a hike!

Sorbet becomes a routine part of your diet. Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches are one of the few real food items that your nauseous stomach can keep down.

Ahh that creamy coldness made my throat feel so much better...for the time being. :/

I did manage to enjoy half of this PHENOMENAL WOW Chocolate Brownie. A deep, indulgent, chocolate flavor embodies the dessert...

... and is accented by surprise chocolate chips!Smooth, creamy and so dense that it's like straight-up fudge...covered in a thin, crusty, brownie-like layer.

Tons of soup was consumed, including this new-to-me Campbell's Broccoli Cheese Soup.

I wasn't too concerned about the ingredient list. I was more excited that my stomach was actually willing to handle this!I also bought some $.25 Ramen Noodles, which I haven't had since I was about 10 years old. I think that they should put these on the prescription. Literally, after eating the soup I was like a new person...for a little while anyways.

Blue Bell Banana Pudding Ice Cream = Dangerous. Very Dangerous. :)

I'm feeling a little bit better and I hope that the antibiotics clear it ALL up SOON! I'm ready to get back to real food!

What's your favorite food to eat when you are sick? Ice Cream and anything else creamy and smooth is typically my choice, with soup being another must have.

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Favorite Ice Cream Brand? Blue Bell Makes some killller stuff, but you have to be in the right region of the country to find it. Bummer dudes.